Recommendation for Equipment - CCTV over IP Network, please?

[snt 0]

Dear all,

 

I'm looking for a recommendation for some inexpensive hardware to select, so that I can demonstrate the following:

 

Either:

Analogue CCTV via IP gateway to DVR

 

or:

 

Decent IP-based camera connecting to back-end Video server.

 

Any help or suggestions would be gratefully received.

 

Thanks,

Daren.

[bobby1471 0]

First off, what is your budget?

 

Second, what are you going to be doing with this system? i.e. in doors, outdoors etc..

 

These two questions will help people in order to understand what you need, price can change drastically due to these.

[snt 0]

Sure, thanks for response.

 

I work for a network training company and wish to create a course aimed at CCTV installers and maintenance engineers who need to understand IP networks. So imagine the target student(s) being used to CCTV cameras, codecs, DVRs, fibre, RS-423 for PTZ and so on.

 

The course might include a migration path from legacy (non-IP) equipment (media conversion and so on) and then a understanding of how certain protocols (RTP, DNS, DHCP etc.) need to be understood.

 

So like a TCP/IP course but aimed towards CCTV engineers.

 

Subjects such as remote access to cameras (VPN's / port forwarding), Storage Networks, Compression.

 

The course would include subject matter from planning for CCTV using small cameras with integrated IP / web browser / SMTP and so on. It will also discuss larger "enterprise" solutions (e.g. Cisco's expensive boxes / Axis / others).

 

Ideally, the course will include a hands-on element where cameras are connected to switches / routed networks / IPv6 networks. Network Analysers will be used to decode (and explain) the protocols.

 

So basically, my challenge is making sure I procure cameras as inexpensively as possible, but providing as many IP network features as possible. Having a back-end DVR would be great.

 

Thanks again,

Daren Matthews.

[Soundy 1]

I would suggest (more as a generality than for specific equipment) using a hybrid DVR, a couple/few analog cameras, and a couple video encoders. You could then start off with a "typical" DVR setup, with the cameras plugged directly into the DVR's analog inputs, and then "migrate" those same cameras to IP using the encoders (Axis, or whatever). In addition to keeping equipment count and costs down, it would help illustrate that there's no difference to basic camera technology between IP and analog, only to the way the video data gets into the recorder.

 

If you wanted to extend the concept, you could set up a "demo WAN" in the classroom, add an NVR or NAS storage server to the "remote side" of that, and show the class how the video can not only be recorded on the local hybrid DVR, but *also* routed simultaneously via WAN to the remote storage. In this case, I'd suggest a NAS box that supports cameras recording to it directly (one I've used is made by QNAP - used it for straight up RAID storage, but it did have this function) and encoders that can record directly to NAS.

 

I can't really suggest specific equipment, as I'm used to dealing with more upper-end stuff that's probably way overkill (and over-budget) for your purposes - Vigil DVRs and IQEye cameras, and such. I have dealt with little Acti dome cameras (didn't install them, but configured them for someone), they're a decent low-cost megapixel IP camera, if you want a couple of pure-IP cameras... but I think for the primary setup, the analog-cameras-with-IP-encoders idea is probably a better way to go, for the reasons I listed.

[snt 0]

Thank you very much indeed - this is excellent and quality advice and has certainly made me think about the structure of the course. Your suggestions are first class! I will certainly be using them.

 

Thanks again,

Daren.